BackgroundResearch in depression has progressed rapidly over the past four decades. Yet depression rates are not subsiding and treatment success is not improving. We examine the extent to which the... Show moreBackgroundResearch in depression has progressed rapidly over the past four decades. Yet depression rates are not subsiding and treatment success is not improving. We examine the extent to which the gap between science and practice is associated with the level of integration in how depression is considered in research and stakeholder-relevant documents.MethodsWe used a network-science perspective to analyze similar uses of depression relevant terms in the Google News corpus (approximately 1 billion words) and the Web of Science database (120 000 documents).ResultsThese analyses yielded consistent pictures of insular modules associated with: (1) patient/providers, (2) academics, and (3) industry. Within academia insular modules associated with psychology, general medical, and psychiatry/neuroscience/biology were also detected.ConclusionsThese analyses suggest that the domain of depression is fragmented, and that advancements of relevance to one stakeholder group (academics, industry, or patients) may not translate to the others. We consider potential causes and associated responses to this fragmentation that could help to unify and advance translation from research on depression to the clinic, largely involving harmonizing employed language, bridging conceptual domains, and increasing communication across stakeholder groups. Show less
It is not clear if treatments for depression targeting repetitive negative thinking (RNT: rumination, worry and content-independent perseverative thinking) have a specific effect on RNT resulting... Show moreIt is not clear if treatments for depression targeting repetitive negative thinking (RNT: rumination, worry and content-independent perseverative thinking) have a specific effect on RNT resulting in better outcomes than treatments that do not specifically target rumination. We conducted a systematic search of PsycINFO, PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane library for randomized trials in adolescents, adults and older adults comparing CBT treatments for (previous) depression with control groups or with other treatments and reporting outcomes on RNT. Inclusion criteria were met by 36 studies with a total of 3307 participants. At post-test we found a medium-sized effect of any treatment compared to control groups on RNT (g = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.37–0.59). Rumination-focused CBT: g = 0.76, <0.01; Cognitive Control Training: g = 0.62, p < .01; CBT: g = 0.57, p < .01; Concreteness training: g = 0.53, p < .05; and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy: g = 0.42, p < .05 had medium sized and significantly larger effect sizes than other types of treatment (i.e., anti-depressant medication, light therapy, engagement counseling, life review, expressive writing, yoga) (g = 0.14) compared to control groups. Effects on RNT at post-test were strongly associated with the effects on depression severity and this association was only significant in RNT-focused CBT. Our results suggest that in particular RNT-focused CBT may have a more pronounced effect on RNT than other types of interventions. Further mediation and mechanistic studies to test the predictive value of reductions in RNT following RNT-focused CBT for subsequent depression outcomes are called for. Show less
